Partners
who owned a small wool manufacturing mill in Williamstown,
Massachusetts. Includes mixed personal and business expenses,
information about employees and production in the two woolen
mills in town, and information concerning the cost of
commodities, labor, and boarding workers in the
town.

Terms of Access and Use:

The collection is open for research.

Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries

Scope and contents of the collection

This daybook lists transactions made by a small woolen
manufactory in Williamstown, Massachusetts. The two most
active partners were Henry Mills (b. 1810 in Williamstown)
and Silas Butler (d. 1841); Asa Barker and Ebenezer Smith
also appear to have been involved, although the accounts do
not make clear to what extent. Toward the rear of the volume,
there are memoranda of wool purchases by two different
combinations of partners-Butler, Mills and Barker, and
Butler, Smith, and Mills. The first fifty pages reflect
principally the expenses incurred by the partners. Among the
expenses were charges for freight, soap, oil, wool, repairs
on a regulator, potash, boarding for weavers, use of horses
and wagons, labor, glue, and wood, as well as foodstuffs.
Although it is not clear that personal and business expenses
were kept separately, the accounts provide much information
concerning the cost of commodities, labor, and boarding in
the town.

Unlike the neighboring towns of Adams and North Adams,
Williamstown never became a manufacturing center. In 1837,
the town had two woolen mills (presumably one of which was
that of Butler and Mills) employing 22 workers and producing
43,370 yards of cloth. By 1845, after the Butler, Mills,
Smith and Barker partnership had dissolved, the town had only
one woolen mill employing 10 and producing but 16,000 yards
of satinet. However, the daybook does demonstrate the impact
of even a small manufacturer on the local economy. A number
of local residents added to their income by selling soap,
oil, and wool to the mill, by boarding its workers, by taking
in weaving, or by hauling freight for the business.

Information on Use

Terms of Access and Use

Restrictions on access:

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Cite as: Butler, Smith, and Barker Daybook (MS 183). Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries.

The following terms represent persons, organizations, and topics documented in this collection. Use these headings to search for additional materials on this web site, in the Five College Library Catalog, or in other library catalogs and databases.